Refunding of deposits
Compile a defects list on moving into premises for the first time.
Time and again a first class row ensues when a tenant’s lease expires and he comes to leave the premises, but is then refunded only part of the original deposit (or in some cases nothing at all) on account of ‘damages’ said to have been incurred during the time he was in the property.
The problem here is that it can be difficult to prove a certain damp spot, wall stain, tear in the carpet, and hole in the floor or whatever was there when the tenant took occupation – and the problem is always exacerbated when the tenant is moving out of a fully furnished apartment. Furniture, it seems, tends to be damaged more easily than the building.
The only solution to this problem is for the new tenant to take the trouble to walk through the premises with the letting agent or landlord and if possible photograph anything that is ‘not quite right’.
The agent or landlord should then be given a list of the defects and should be asked to sign it, acknowledging that it is correct. Photographic proof accompanying all statements (easily compiled with today’s electronic media), will add great weight to any subsequent statements.
If the premises are furnished, it is advisably to buy a few throw-over covers for the sofas and chairs so as to give them protection during the period of the tenancy.
The refunding of deposits is often a contentious matter because there is a fine line between acceptable wear and tear (for which no refund is usually necessary) and outright damages, which have to be paid for.
We have had a case when an entire bath has had to be replaced at the tenant’s cost because a crack in it, although efficiently repaired, continued to look unsightly. The tenant claimed that the bath already had a slight crack when he moved in – but he was unable to prove it.
*Lanice Steward is the MD of Anne Porter Knight Frank, the Cape Peninsula estate agency
Source: RealEstateWeb